MoviesSince
this is a HD digital projector, why not start the test drive out with
some HDTV source material? Using a DirecTV satellite feed, I was able
to witness a concert on the new HD Bravo channel. “European Concert
1996” (2003) was a classical performance from the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra visiting St. Petersburg. Included in this concert was a
performance of Beethoven’s “Romance For Violin - Nos. 1 and 2.” The
clarity of the picture was enthralling. The resolution of HD is a
monumental improvement over regular cable NTSC feeds wherever you
choose to compare them. Some of the more obvious differences are in the
close-ups of the musicians and their instruments. Strings vibrating on
the violins were not blurred, but rather were crisp lines that jumped
out of the screen. Individual gray hairs on conductor Claudio Abbado’s
head can be counted and flow through space as he jerks his body to the
rhythm of the music. The deep reddish brown tones of the violins and
the shiny platinum-colored flutes are examples of how the PT-L500U was
able to reproduce rich, saturated colors. The resolution was good, but
as I tried to read the sheet music placed in front of the clarinet
player, I could not make out the individual notes the way I could with
more resolute and expensive projectors. Faces of audience members could
be made out in the darkness, but the images were on the faint side and
not strongly detailed. This is the result of the PT-L500U’s lower
contrast ratios in comparison to more expensive digital technologies
like DLP, D-ILA and specifically CRT devices. Also, Abbado’s black suit
was hard to isolate from the mainly dark background of the audience
during some of his close-ups. Distinguishing dark images from each
other is a weakness of any LCD-based projector, but this was probably
one of the more extreme cases where it was a noticeable issue.

“Gladiator”
(DreamWorks Home Entertainment) also had some dark and murky
backgrounds during the opening fight scene with the barbarians. Here
the PT-L500U was challenged with displaying dark gray landscapes
against the dull gunmetal armor of the Roman soldiers. In this case,
the projector flourished and the Roman soldiers appeared to pop out of
the screen. Gone were the issues as aforementioned with the concert
footage and dark images. The moment where the archers light the gloomy
gray soil with fire to ignite their arrows mesmerized me. Even as the
frame was frozen to scrutinize the colors, the bright yellow flames did
not spill into the gray or over-saturate the two distinct colors.
Looking at the crimson shields, one will notice the golden wing-shaped
emblems and how they are clearly defined despite the apparent distance
from the viewer in that scene. No jagged lines were outwardly
noticeable on the spears and other straight objects; everything looked
pretty smooth. The black mane on the top of Maximus’s helmet contrasted
beautifully against an overcast sky. Having seen this movie a dozen
times on a 32-inch screen and at the movie theater, I still was amazed
at how many new details I saw on my 100-inch screen with this
projector. Plus, there was no snotty kid behind me kicking my seat and
screaming every time a limb got hacked off.

Lastly,
“Step into Liquid” (Artisan Home Entertainment) was placed into my DVD
player to put the PT-L500U to the test. The footage of big wave rider
Laird Hamilton tackling the 20-foot-plus waves of Pea’hi (aka “Jaws”)
was breathtaking. The huge rolling waves were rich in light and dark
blues and brought you into the movie. The huge crashing crests of the
waves resulted in some massive spraying of white water. When I froze
the screen, some pixilation in the form of little white squares was
visible, but it is hard to be too critical of this. The white water
crashing against the black lava rocks along the shore was stunning and
rich with contrast. No rainbow effects were apparent, as with some of
the DLP-based projectors out there. The rainbow effect occurs when the
viewer sees short flashes of colors, especially when one’s eyes move
quickly across the screen or with images with very bright and or black
and white areas. If you ever wanted to learn to surf the big waves, be
sure to watch the wipeout scenes on the Pipeline – ouch. I’ll stick to
the six-foot San Diego waves -- thanks anyway.